Cyprus sits among EU nations with smallest farming economies

Cyprus’ agricultural sector generated €426.04 million in gross value added in 2024, according to Eurostat, underscoring the continued contribution of farming to the island’s rural economy despite its relatively small share of overall output.

The figures were published in Eurostat’s December 2025 edition of key figures on the European food chain.

The report traces the journey of food from farm to fork and covers production, processing, distribution, international trade, consumption and environmental concerns, while focusing in this instance on the value added by agriculture.

According to the data, the value added from the EU’s agricultural industry amounted to 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product in 2024, which was 0.1 percentage points higher than in 2009.

The ratio of the agricultural industry’s value added to GDP was notably higher in Greece at 3.2 per cent, Romania at 2.5 per cent and Spain at 2.3 per cent than in other EU countries.

Bulgaria, Italy and Croatia recorded the next highest ratios, all at 1.8 per cent, the report added.

In 12 EU countries, the agricultural industry’s value added accounted for less than 1.0 per cent of GDP, with the lowest ratios recorded in Luxembourg and Malta, both at 0.2 per cent.

Between 2009 and 2024, the ratio of agricultural value added to GDP increased in 15 EU countries, with Greece seeing the largest rise at 0.9 percentage points, followed by Latvia at 0.6 percentage points and Spain at 0.5 percentage points.

By contrast, the relative weight of the agricultural industry declined most sharply in Romania, down 2.2 percentage points, followed by Bulgaria, down 1.4 percentage points, and Malta and Croatia, both down 0.7 percentage points.

For Cyprus, the gross value added at basic prices in agriculture measured €426.04 million in 2024, compared with €407.95 million in 2025.

At EU level, the same measure reached €222.82 billion in 2024 and €246.95 billion in 2025, reflecting the scale of agricultural production value at producer prices across the bloc.

The data fall under the economic accounts for agriculture, specifically the indicator production value at producer price, and are presented in million euro.

While agriculture accounts for a modest proportion of GDP in many member states, the findings highlight its ongoing importance within the European food chain, particularly in countries where farming remains a structural pillar of the economy.

For Cyprus, although agriculture represents a low percentage of the country’s GDP, the sector continues to generate hundreds of millions of euro in annual value added and to support activity across the rural landscape.